Weekend Update: Nalbandyan, Mammadyarov speak on Karabakh in Dublin, top American firms call for trade agreement with Armenia

Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandyan speaking at the 19th OSCE Ministerial Council in Dublin said Armenia is determined to hold the 2013 presidential elections in line with highest democratic standards. “The Armenian government is implementing a large-scale package of reforms to strengthen democratic structures, supremacy of law even more, protect and bolster fundamental human rights and freedoms and improve the election processes”, he said.

Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers delivered speeches in Dublin touching upon Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement. Azerbaijan’s FM Elmar Mammadyarov accused Armenia in reinforcing status-quo by violating the OSCE regulation and using force to maintain control over “the occupied territories of Azerbaijan.” Armenia’s FM Edward Nalbandyan said it has become habitual for Azerbaijan to backtrack even on agreements to which it had previously consented to. “Despite the agreement on the creation of a mechanism to investigate the ceasefire violations, as you know, Azerbaijan did everything to prevent its creation, even threatening to veto the entire OSCE budget,” the Armenian FM said. Read more…(571 words)